I read that 4,153,237 people got married last year. Not to cause any trouble, but shouldn't that be an even number?
Former Eton Master Pens Brutal Letter Admitting 'Failure' In Educating 'Entitled' Tories
A former master of Eton College, Britain’s most famous private school, has admitted regret over “failing” to rein in ex-pupil Boris Johnson.
John Claughton, who was a master at Eton from 1984 to 2001, pointed to the former prime minister and other leading Conservatives – including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Kwasi Kwarteng – who have damaged the “very fabric” of the country.
In a brutally short letter in The Times on Tuesday, Claughton essayed the school’s role in educating the “global elite”.
He added: “Perhaps its most important mission will be to ensure that its pupils are saved from the sense of privilege, entitlement and omniscience that can produce alumni such as Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Kwasi Kwarteng and Ben Elliot and thereby damage a country’s very fabric.
Tax
‘Gobsmacked’: Political editor Andrew Probyn among ABC redundancies
- Today, 4.26pm
- Calum Jaspan
Australian Marine Conservation Society Chief Executive Darren Kindleysides congratulates Patron Tim Winton on his fully deserved appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to literature and to environmental advocacy”.
Fed Will Keep Rates High Thanks to Inflation Fueled by Corporate Greed, Investors SayBloomberg
What’s Killing Productivity? Some Think It’s the Banks Wall Street Journal
The Public Accounts Committeehas noted failures in HMRC's work in closing the tax gap this morning due to staff being diverted to tackle Covid fraud. As they noted:
HMRC has conducted substantially fewer enquiries into suspected non-compliance since the pandemic began. It closed 29% (103,000) fewer cases in 2020-21 compared with the previous year and opened 32% fewer (114,000).
As serious is how long investigations are taking. These are now very often far too protracted.
The answer is easy, of course. The PAC estimate the cost of this is £9bn. That's more than twice the cost of running HMRC a year. Just recruit more staff. Yet again, it's not rocket science, but the bleedin' obvious is not too regularly mentioned these days.
